Smart card driving license

Few weeks back i finally got rid of my paper book driving license in favor of a smart card driving license (they started issuing this from june 2009 in bangalore RTO offices). I went to jayanagar 4th block RTO office which is in the BDA complex second floor. The following are the steps involved

1. Fill up Form-6.
2. If your address has changed attach an address proof. Telephone bill (even private one like airtel) should be fine. Same might be applicable with bank statements i think.
3. Attach a self addressed envelope with Rs.25/- stamp.
4. Attach your original driving license to the application.
5. Get it verified with the supervisor for Driving License section - he'll sign it in red-ink.
6. Pay the required fees. It is Rs.200/- for smart card license (151 for the govt and 49 for the computerized operations) and Rs.20/- for address change (if applicable).
7. Get it verified with Officer (a separate queue for driving license) - he'll sign it in green ink.
8. Go to the computer counter and get your photo taken by camera attached to the computer, sample signature. This is done against the sticker (which you would have got in your receipt when you paid the fees) with unique code for tracking.
9. Attach the receipts (both of them) to the application and submit it in the counter for Driving License. The person will ask you to write your name etc in a register and You'll get a hand-written acknowledgment with a tracking number.

Then you'll receive your driving license in couple of weeks by post.

Some interesting things which happened when i applied are

• The office did not have the form-6 and asked me to collect it from the xerox shop one floor below. That guy had bunch of the original forms (not even copies) and charged Rs.2/- for it. The form is not available online afaik.
  
• I did not know about the self addressed envelope and one senior citizen was selling them in the stairs leading to the office for Rs.35/- (10 more than the face value). Entrepreneurial :-). It saved me time for a trip to post office and i was glad to pay the extra.
  
• Absolutely no bribe involved and since i got the license thru mail no more interactions, thus minimal chance for asking/giving bribe.
• The office was overcrowded (i went on a saturday) and not very helpful. I ran around asking for information few times and finally figured out the above steps by trial and error.
  
• I spent lot of time in the queue for paying fees - it seems to move at snail-pace with only one cashier accepting fees and many people paying fees for multiple stuff (vehicle registration etc) - probably agents/brokers etc.
• My original paper license was issued by indiranagar office, but no issues whatsoever in getting the smart card license in jayanagar office. Even my address i'm not sure whether it falls under jayanagar office or some other RTO office - but i don't think that matters anymore with computerized systems. Nearest RTO office might do. RTO Office jurisdiction details are here.
  

Some key things to remember are

• Have copies of your original driving license made
  
• For address proof have copies and have alternates ready if you're not sure one will be acceptable
• Since you submit both the receipts for the fees paid (along with the sticker in it) it might be better to take a copy of it in the xerox shops below just for your reference. might come in handy in case of issues (i did not take them and thankfully i did not run into issues in getting my license, but one never knows).
  
• Go early (around 10 a.m) so that you can finish it by 12 or so after which the office will close (in saturday atleast).

Applying for passport

Recently i went through the experience of renewing the passport for my wife and applying a fresh one for my son. I did this in bangalore regional passport office. Here are some of the key take-aways:

1. Have two xerox copies of all the documents you submit for proofs - this is not very obvious from the instructions online for filling form etc
2. For minors no police verification is required, so no need to fill in the personal particulars form. This is mostly true i think if either one of the parents have already passport.
3. For minor passports attach copies of both parents passport (front and last page), birth certificate and address proof of one of the parent (if current address is not there in either of the parents passports)
4. For address proof any bank statement (even private banks like axis bank) should do. I'm guessing same is applicable with telephone statement.
5. Carry originals of all your copies for verification (this is obvious from the instructions itself)
6. Photos need to be precisely of 3.5 x 3.5 size as recommended (NOTE:the standard passport size photos from studios are 3.5 x 4.5 cms). The instructions have clear guidelines on what is acceptable (light background, full frontal view etc).

If you're renewing existing passport (issued by any office - should not matter) the following are the proofs you will need

1. Address proof if there is change in address
2. Marriage certificate if you're including your spouse name for the first time - Note this is mandatory if you're applying for child's passport along with yours

If you're applying for fresh passport - the following are the proofs you'll require apart from above (address proof, marriage proof)

1. Birth certificate (alternates for date of birth like board mark-sheet should be acceptable)
2. If asking for ECNR - degree certificate

If you're applying for minors - the following are required

1. Birth certificate
2. Parents passport copies
3. Affadavit Annexure H
4. Parents address proof


References:

1. Passport Forms
2. Passport Filing guidelines
3. Affadavits (for minors Annexure H is required)
4. Checklist (for attachments/proofs)


I used online appointment of bangalore RPO for taking appointment. It opens at 9.30 am the previous day you require appointment (only one day before appointment is given) and it fills up quickly (usually within 30 minutes). Although you've an appointment most likely you'll have to spend 1-2 hours in the queues/waiting as it involves three steps

1. Tagging of application (queue based) where they verify that you've two xerox copies and re-arrange the application for police verification separately etc
2. Verification of documents - typically done by your online token number, but might become completely queue based when too many ppl miss their tokens etc
3. Payment of fees and corrections to any online data you've submitted, based on the order in which verification (step 2) was done

You should try to get the data you entered in online appointment correct, but in case of error/corrections you can notify them at step-3. This is very important as i think that is the data which will show in passport irrespective of what you've put in application.

One surprise i had was online appointment required all the data (including old passport details) before getting it - so having them handy is useful. If you're hunting for it by the time you find it the appointments will be long gone :-).

Except for bangalore RPO most other passport offices accept the complete application online and probably they expect you to submit the printed application with photos, signature and proofs. I'm not sure about the exact procedure here.

You can also submit your application from bangalore one centers (if you're in bangalore) and/or speed post centers (passport through mail). The application process is the same except for one key difference, the copies of proofs need to be attested by gazetted officers. The pros of this is you can do it any time of your convenience and avoid queues. The details are in the following links

1. Passport through bangalore one
2. Passport through speed post